


Edge and Pearl

by Varaen



Series: Through the Looking Glass [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Comic), Stargate - All Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, GFY, Gen, Sages to Soldiers, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:55:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4334651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varaen/pseuds/Varaen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Battle of Cathar happens. There are consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Edge

The Battle of Cathar later proved to be a pivotal turning point in the Mandalorian War. In hindsight, it was fortunate that so many Jedi had pilgered to the planet for the funeral, to honor Sylvar, host to Aradia, hero of the Sith War. It is unlikely that the Mandalorians were aware of this gathering, for they would have chosen a different strategy, had such resistance been anticipated.

The Mandalorians descended upon the grievers with brute force, and with brute Force they were repelled. For once, both those Jedi that wished to fight against the Mandalorians and those that preferred to adhere to the recently established directive of pacifistic noninterference stood and fought united against those that would disturb a sacred rite.

It was a massacre. Uncounted Cathar were driven into the sea to drown. Uncounted Mandalorians were shot and cut down, falling from the sky on burning Basilisk war droids. Only a few spoke out against what was basically the honourless slaughter of millions of civilians in mourning. This is the story of one of them.

 

* * *

 

Runana shivered with anticipation as she descended upon Cathar on her Basilisk war droid, surrounded by her clan on their respective _bes'uliik_. After months of taking part in smaller skirmishes, this was to be her first major battle, and, of course, her first major victory.

The Mandalorians were a lot more flexibly organized than any regular military would consider reasonable. Because most of them were warriors and not soldiers, command was awarded not by seniority, but by inclination and capability. And so it was Runana's brother Canderous, her senior only by two years, that led their family unit into battle, and not one of their older relatives.

After atmospheric re-entry, as their droids cooled and their view cleared, outrage flooded the comm channels. They were right above a procession of Jedi that no one seemed to have known about beforehand. The lowest _bes'uliik_ were being boarded, lightsabers cutting through droid and rider alike.

"Scatter." came her brother's command over the comm, and Runana swerved, breaking out of the almost-formation they had been flying in, straight into the defender's newly established line of fire. Her Basilisk shuddered as it was hit and began to spiral downwards. She clung to the controls as the droid spun round and tried to slow their descent enough to avoid being crushed against the ground. At an opportune moment, she jumped off her vessel and took to the skies with her jetpack, reluctant to relinquish the advantage of the high ground, so to speak.

By now, more than just solitary Cathar had been able to organize themselves and react to the attack, and were forming squads that grouped together and provided cover to each other, which made it both more difficult and easier to take them out. She took her blaster rifle to hand and fired into the closest formation. Today, the Mandalorians would reclaim their honour! Victory over the Cathar!

 

* * *

 

She had been shot down again. Then, she had lost her rifle, and then her carbine. Her pistol was almost out of juice and she would eat her helmet if her saber was still sharp. Her vision was greying around the edges. She stumbled through the mire of mud and blood, surrounded by too many corpses to count. Among them, women and children aplenty. It did not make sense to her, but intellectually, she knew that in most cultures, it was unusual for a woman to fight. Those were _civilians_ , as the Republic liked to call them. It was not supposed to be like that. There was no honour in this slaughter.

She was only half surprised that no one had shot her dead yet. Between the bloodred mud and the twilight, a mixture of the firelight of atmospheric- and spacebattle and the setting sun, her grey and red armor provided excellent camouflage. She just had to find someone who would not mock her for her weakness, preferably Canderous, and get away. She stumbled and fell, too weak to get up again. Yes, Canderous could make everything well again, she thought, as she slipped into unconciousness.

There were two men hunched over her. They were conversing in low tones, too low to be picked up by the soundcatcher of her helmet clearly enough to make out words instead of inflection. Her assumption of them being Jedi was confirmed when the eyes of the smaller one bled into a bright grey and its - his? cadence shifted to a more forceful, persuasive tone.

"Jedi. Please, help me." She coughed. That certainly got their attention.

"We told you she was still alive." The smaller one announced triumphantly, and then shushed his companion sharply as he launched into a retort. It would have made her smile if she was not so tired.

Behind the Jedi, she could see Canderous landing his _bes'uliik_. It was good that the Jedi were so distracted with her, or this could turn ugly very quickly. She moved her hand to signal him that she was in no immediate danger. Whether he understood or just read their postures right, he took off his helmet and approached them calmly.

"Help me save my people. There is no honour in this kind of carnage. They have all gone insane. Please." She pleaded to all of them, desperately.

The smaller Jedi knelt next to her in the mud and moved to remove her helmet, while her brother almost shoved his bigger companion aside to kneel on her other side and help him find the seals.

" _Ruuni_." He whispered and caressed her face with his armored fingers. The Jedi touched her forehead and his facial expressions showed that he led a fierce discussion with his host.

"I am sorry. I can not heal you like this. I... We can not help you like this. But, if you were to become host..." He trailed off, letting the implications sink in.

She could feel her lifeforce fading away and knew she had to decide quickly.

"I... accept." She managed to force out as her eyes drifted shut.

The Jedi's white-grey eyes faded into a more generic blue and she knew it was the host speaking.

"Thank you."

His tone was heartfelt. Then, he hunched over his cupped hands, and out of his mouth slid the symbiote. He held it in his hands for a short moment, and she supposed that there usually was some kind of ceremony involved in the changing of a host. She could do nothing but open her mouth and assent.

It felt like a weird cross between a kiss and a bad cold as the Jedi slid over her tongue and slithered around her spine. She felt a warm burst of assurance and tender protectiveness and her pain faded into nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bes'uliik - Basilisk war droid, basically sentient lizard-shaped battle tanks that serve as mounts and landing "shuttles"


	2. Pearl

The Battle of Cathar later proved to be a pivotal turning point in the Mandalorian War. In hindsight, it was fortunate that so many Jedi had pilgered to the planet for the funeral, to honor Sylvar, host to Aradia, hero of the Sith War. It is unlikely that the Mandalorians were aware of this gathering, for they would have chosen a different strategy, had such resistance been anticipated.

The Mandalorians descended upon the grievers with brute force, and with brute Force they were repelled. For once, both those Jedi that wished to fight against the Mandalorians and those that preferred to adhere to the recently established directive of pacifistic noninterference stood and fought united against those that would disturb a sacred rite.

It was a massacre. Uncounted Mandalorians were shot and cut down. Uncounted Cathar were driven into the sea to drown, their blood turning the water red for weeks. Only a few had spoken out against the unchecked rampage of the Mandalorians through the Republic, but their efforts and voices would not go unseen and unheard for much longer. This is the story of one of them.

 

* * *

 

It may seem morbid, but Korran actually enjoyed the solemnity of the funeral procession. It was an almost relaxing contrast to the recent stress of scouting missions and defensive campaigns that had begun to dominate his life.

 _#Do not fret. I, too, prefer solemn processions to war. You know that. A different occasion may be more acceptable, but we should take what rest we can get, when we can get it. Although I like it better less solemn overall, and I know you do, too.#_ Dorian remarked with a cheeky undertone that obscured his newfound sobriety.

He walked in the throng of hosted Jedi, former hosts and temple staff. They were about to begin with the traditional Jedi funeral chant, reciting first the feats of the host, second the feats they accomplished with and while hosting their Jedi, and closing with the ritual of remembrance, naming all hosts that Jedi had before, and then the current host, if the Jedi had not perished, also. Khara, new host to Aradia, walked in front, as was befitting one of the chief mourners, next to Sylvar's mate Crado and their children.

While Jedi were capable to extend the lives of their hosts in addition to the healing they provided, most hosts preferred to live out only their natural lifespan, especially if they had close family, and turn over hosting duties to another if they became to frail for the chosen path of their symbiote.

_#Would you stop it with this morose pondering? Alek and I are brothers in every sense that counts, just as you and Marian, and we don't plan on leaving the service of the Jedi Order any time soon. You won't be getting rid of us so easily.#_

_#Don't try lying to me. I can feel how the war is weighing you down. You are a scholar at heart, just as I thought I was, or I would never have chosen you. I, too, would prefer to spend my time searching muddy planets for artifacts rather than intelligence, but who will fight for the republic if not us?#_

_#I do not need convincing. I stand with you, Dorian.#_

_#Thank you.#_

The Jedi's chanting was interrupted when the sky over Cathar turned red with the fire of atmospheric re-entry, a loud howling announcing the approach of thousands of Basilisk war droids upon the unsuspecting population.

"Sacrilege!"

"Blasphemy!"

Panic and chaos spread as the Cathar tried to flee somewhere, anywhere.

 _#How dare they?#_ Dorian and Korran were united in their outrage and raised their voice.

"How dare they? Brother, sisters, hear me! Here we see the misery that the Mandalorians seek to inflict upon the Republic! They have no respect for our laws! The have no respect for our traditions! They have no respect" He almost spat the word out. "for our people! I say: No more! I will not stand by and watch citizens of the Republic I swore to defend die any longer!"

He had lit his lightsaber while speaking and raised it to the sky. Around him, hundreds of Jedi followed his example.

"Spread out. Protect and rally as many as possible. Evacuate if necessary." He ordered, before using the Force to jump onto the closest Basilisk and slice through its engines. It toppled and began to plummet and before the rider noticed the additional passenger, Dorian had already jumped onto the next droid to repeat the process.

The Mandalorians were quick on the uptake, and already on his next jump, Dorian was greeted with a blaster shot to the face, that he only just managed to deflect.

The Mandalorians scattered so that not even the most accomplished Jedi acrobat could have jumped from one craft to another, and the melee descended into chaos.

 

* * *

 

It was slowly getting dark and the battle was almost over. They had repelled the Mandalorian attack with heavy losses on both sides. Korran wandered aimlessly, his shock blinding him to his gruesome surroundings. Dorian and he had been aware of the horrors of war, on a purely academic level, it had been their field of research after all. But nothing could have prepared them for the reality of solid earth turning to mud because it is soaked in so much blood, and the dread of bloodied body parts covering the ground, interspersed with pieces of droids, some scorched and cleanly cut by lightsaber, other ripped apart or smashed with brute force.

"Do you enjoy making yourself suffer?" Marian voiced his discomfort. Alek had long since shut himself away from awareness, like Korran far from ready to deal with what he had witnessed and done today.

"We should be mindful of what we are fighting to prevent." Dorian cautioned. "And we may be able to find something that will teach us more about our enemy. Are we not researchers of renown?"

They did indeed find something worth researching. A Mandalorian was lying in the mud, armor still intact and sealed.

"Look, a body in full armor. Can we take that with us to study, and just leave?" Marian declared, exasperated.

To their surprise, it was Korran who leaned over her and announced quietly. "I don't think she's dead. The damage to the armor is not grave enough for her to have died quickly, and the pool of blood is not large enough for her to have bled out already. If it is even her blood."

"Brother, please, don't try to fool yourself with absurd delusions. She is dead, just like the thousands of other remains we have passed in the last hours."

"And I am telling you that she is still alive! Do you not feel her in the Force? We should take her with us anyway of course, but just imagine what she could tell us, what we could learn from her." This time, it was Dorian who spoke, tone insistent, but coaxing.

It was then that the Mandalorian chose to make herself heard.

"Jedi. Please, help me."

They turned towards her, only half startled by the interruption.

"We told you she was still alive." Dorian announced triumphantly, and then shushed Alek sharply as he launched into a retort. They did not have time for drawn-out discussions. He could sense the lifeforce of the Mandalorian weaken and he had noticed what Marian had not: They were about to have company.

"Help me save my people. There is no honour in this kind of carnage. They have all gone insane. Please." She pleaded.

This settled the issue for Dorian. She had already all but declared herself an ally. He knelt next to her head in the mud and tried to pry off her helmet. He needed skin contact to gain a better understanding of her condition, not to mention to heal her. Another Mandalorian approached from behind and pushed Marian aside and kneel on the other side of her head. Together, they removed her helmet and Dorian quickly touched her forehead to investigate her properly. The Mandalorian just stroked her cheek and murmured tenderly. " _Ruuni_."

_#You can not heal that much damage.#_

_#Channeled through a host, I can not.#_

_#You don't mean that.#_

_#I do. You are not a warrior. This war will destroy you, if I stay. You were suffering before, when it was just scouting and sporadic smaller battles. I have no desire to make you suffer, but I will not sit by and do nothing after what I have seen today. Taking her as host is a better solution for all of us.#_

_#Damn you. I hate it when you present your point of view so reasonably that I can not disagree with clear conscience. Make the offer.#_

_#For what it's worth, I will miss you.#_

"I am sorry. I can not heal you like this. I... We can not help you like this. But, if you were to become host..." Dorian explained. He remained silent then, to allow her time to think about the potential consequences of her decision.

"I... accept." She wheezed as her eyes drifted shut.

Dorian withdrew control with a last surge of fondness and gratitude as he slowly disconnected. Korran used this moment to reaffirm his approval of Dorians next host.

"Thank you."

He cupped his hands and bent over as he felt Dorian slide out over his tongue, leaving behind a weird tang. Usually, there were ritual words spoken by all participants when a Jedi changed host. Traditional formulae expressing gratitude for the service of the Jedi, gratitude for the service of the former host, and declaring that the next host was aware and consenting. As they were in a hurry, he restrained himself to a whispered "Thank you." as Dorian fondly butted his palm with his head. They had to take the open mouth of the Mandalorian woman as what it was: The only gesture of permission she was able to give. Korran lowered his hands to her chin and Dorian slithered in.

 

* * *

 

Marian watched anxiously as his brother twice over became his brother no longer. They had grown up in the same crèche pool together, closest to each other, and had chosen their names together. Nobody knew if their hosts had been actual brothers, or 'only' as good as, since they had come to the temple together as orphans at not even two years of age, and it had never really mattered. And now it would never be the same anymore. He just hoped they would survive the procedure. He stepped closer to channel as much of the Force to Dorian as was sensible, and hoped for the best.

 

* * *

 

Canderous, too, watched nervously as his sister became host to a Jedi. Expedience dictated that he kill the Jedi, the _enemy_ , but he knew logically, that the Jedi was about to try and save Runana's life, and that he by himself could not win a fight against even a single Jedi alone, muss less two of them.

He was startled when Runana sat up apruptly and opened eyes that were completely white.

"Thank you, Marian. The lingering injuries will require more finesse than power. They will heal in time. And thank you, Commander Ordo, for not interfering. You have saved your sister's life today."

The Jedi spoke with his sister's voice, and the sort of precise enunciation that he had come to associate with the demands for surrender that some Republic Officers still liked to broadcast before they were chased out of the systems they tried to defend.

"How do you know me?"

"Your sister is not completely unconcious, or I would not be able to talk to you. I have steered her into a healing trance instead of a coma, because it allows me control enough to function normally while she recuperates, and enough access and communication with her surface thoughts that I am able to make at least temporary decisions in her stead, and she will have subconcious memories of what happened. Additionally, you have gained quite the reputation recently. I should have to be ashamed of myself, did I not recognize you."

"You have heard of me." He said with a proud grin on his face. "But I have never heard of you."

"You can call me Revan. Remember that name well, you shall hear it more often in the future."

Marian inhaled sharply at that. For a Jedi to change their name was a momentous event. For Dorian _-Revan-_ to do it so casually was peculiar.

"So, what do we do now?"


	3. Edge and Pearl

She came to in an unfamiliar room of austere white. It was very clean, geometrical and, above all, very non-Mandalorian. And she had no idea how she came to be there. She had been stripped of her armor and clad into a flimsy hospital gown. Before she could descend into proper panic, a disjointed sense of calm overwhelmed her.

_#Calm down, Runana, you are where you are supposed to be. What is the last thing you remember?#_

-Pain. Shame. Red sky over Cathar. Burning. My _bes'uliik_ on fire. Pain. Shame. I-will-not-follow-a-butcher! Resolve. An offer. Pain. _#Sleep.#_ Sleep.-

_#You healed me? You will help me redeem my people?#_

_#Your memories will become clearer with time. You... We almost didn't make it, and you are still very weak. For now, heal, rest, and let me take care of things.#_

_#What about my brother? My_ bes'uliik _? My_ beskar'gam _?#_

_#Your brother was there when you agreed to host me. He knows, and he knows that we will send him regular messages to reassure him of your wellbeing, but I cannot allow any more than that, considering you are now technically on different sides of the war. We could not find your Basilisk, but he promised to keep looking or get you a replacement and hide it where only you could find it. Marian and Alek stripped us of your armor to protect your identity, but they have promised to take good care of it until you are well enough to do it yourself. We have spent the last week in a kolto tank, but I should be able to heal the remainder of your injuries on my own.#_

They were so engrossed in their inner monologue that they had not noticed the nurse enter. She had bustled through the room busily, adjusting the light, and only noticed that they were awake when she turned to straighten their sheets.

"Master Jedi, you are awake!"

"So I am. I have healed well, and I thank you for your assistance, Healer."

The Jedi had been quick to assert control over their shared body, and the refined Coruscanti accent and formal cadence felt foreign in her mouth.

"And your host?"

"Will be healed in time." He dismissed the nurses fretting. They had much to do and any distractions would be damaging to their cause.

 _#We spoke about names, before I lost conciousness, that much I remember, but the details are foggy.#_ She prompted hesitantly after the nurse had left and she felt that they would be left alone for a time.

_#Yes. I was known as Dorian. But I think a more poignant name will prove a better rallying point for our cause, and I hope you still agree with me. Revan is quite fitting, don't you think?#_

_#Revan? The Revanchist. And those who follow us will be known as Revanchists. We will take back what my people so ruthlessly conquered in their quest for glory.#_

_#You are quite convinced that we will lead and others will follow.#_

_#But of course. Although your knowledge of war has been theoretical for the greater part of your life, your grasp of the reality of warfare is remarkable and your ingenuity has already impressed some of the war-leaders. And I am an Ordo of Ordo. I was born and raised with war in my veins. With our skills combined, we are predestined to lead this war. You will be Revan, and I shall be Ruvena, and together, we can end this bloodshed.#_

_#The Revanchist and the Infinite Defender. I like the way you think.#_

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

**Author's Note:**

> I am [varaenthefallen](http://varaenthefallen.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, follow me for headcanons and pretty reblogs. My askbox is always open.


End file.
